Oysters Bienville 

Ingredients:

24 Shucked Oysters, Liquor, and 24 deep shells
3/4 cup chicken stock
4 TBS butter
1/4 cup finely chopped mushrooms
1/4 cup finely chopped shallots
2 TBS flour
2 egg yolks
1/2 cup light cream
1 cup chopped cooked shrimp or back fin crabmeat
3 TBS dry Sherry
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Cayenne pepper, Paprika (if desired)
1 cup panko bread crumbs

Procedure:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees
1. Shuck Oysters, drain and reserve oyster liquor (1/4 cup) Add it to the stock and
heat in a small sauce pan.
2. Melt butter in another saucepan and saute mushrooms and shallots until tender.
Stir in flour and cook until bubbling.  Remove from heat and whisk in the stock mixture.
Return to heat and boil, stirring constantly, unti the sauce thickens.  Simmer for 3 minutes
3.  Whisk egg yolks and cream in a bowl. Whisk in 1/2 cup of the hot sauce, a spoonful at a time.  Then slowly beat in the reaming sauce.  Transfer the enriched sauce to the saucepan.  Place over moderate heat and, stirring carefully, bring to a simmer.
4.  Add the shrimp or crabmeat, and sherry.  Season to taste with salt, pepper, and cayenne.
5. Arrange oysters in their shells on a baking sheet, lined with aluminum foil.  Distribute the seafood mixture over the oysters and lighlty sprinkle with panko and paprika (if desired)
Bake from 5-10 minutes until the sauce is bubbling and the bread crumbs are lightly browned.

Sausage, Peppers and Onions

Ingredients

Chicken Sausage -4 packages
Sweet Peppers (red, yellow, green, orange) 5
3 Red Onions
4 sprigs of Rosemary
6 cloves of Garlic
1/3 cup Olive Oil

Preparation

Slice sausage in 1/2 inch chunks
Slice peppers in 1/2 inch chunks
Slice onions in chunks
Remove Rosemary from stems
Mince Garlic

Toss all ingredients in 1/3 cup olive oil in deep pan.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes, stirring frequently to keep from over browning.  (If using convection oven, bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, stirring frequently).

Serves 15-20

Photo: Truro after the Blizzard of 2013

Herb Butter

Ingredients

Palm Gardens, Florida

1 lb butter, room temperature

3/4 cup chopped herbs

(Basil, Garlic, Sage, Parsley-choose one or two)

Combine in food processor

or use mixer to blend thoroughly

Press into square or oblong pan

 lined with plastic wrap

Refrigerate until solid

Cut into squares and freeze in

plastic containers with tight fitting lids

Use for roasting meats, vegetables and breads

A convenient seasoning for cooking a variety of meats, fish, vegetables or breads.  Sage Butter is very good for pork chops and sweet potatoes

Spanish Lemon Cream

Dogwood in Williamsburg VA

Ingredients


3 8oz containers of plain yoghurt
4 lemons
1/2 can of sweetened, condensed milk

Preparation


Squeeze the juice from the lemons.  Add the juice to a mixing bowl.  Add 8 oz of sweetened, condensed milk (each can is 14 oz-so a little more than half).  Mix well with mixer.  Add yoghurt, one container at a time and mix well.  Cover and refrigerate for at least one hour until it thickens to the consistency of pudding.

I usually put it in parfait glasses and top with a few fresh berries- raspberries or blue berries.


Serves 4-6

Turkey Brine

November days

Ingredients

12-20 lb thawed or fresh turkey (remove neck and livers,etc)

1 gallon sweet cider

1 cup apple cider vinegar

1 cup sugar

2/3 cup kosher or sea salt

1 yellow onion, sliced

1 lemon, quartered
1 orange, quartered
10 cloves
4 cloves garlic, smashed
6 bay leaves
1 tablespoon thyme
2 sticks cinnamon
1 quart ice water

Preparation

Put all ingredients EXCEPT ice water in a large (8 quart pot).  Simmer until all sugar and salt dissolve (about 5 minutes).  Add ice water.  When the brine is room temperature, place the turkey in breast side down. Cover and refrigerate turkey and brine.  Ideally, brine turkey on each side for 12 hours.

Drain brine and discard.  Pat turkey dry, rub with sage butter, inside and outside of turkey.  Make several small slits in turkey breast skin and rub some sage butter in between the skin and the meat. Add chicken broth to roasting pan (according to the size of the turkey) I use about 6-8 cups of chicken broth.  Roast with lid on pan according to weight of turkey.   Remove the lid of the pan for the last 20 minutes.

Pumpkin Bisque



Fall in Maine


Ingredients

2 stalks celery, chopped very fine
2 carrots, chopped very fine
1 medium yellow onion, chopped fine
6 cups chicken broth
( I use organic free-range chicken broth)
2 15 oz cans pumpkin
2 bay leaves
1 cup light cream or half and half
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
Salt and Pepper to taste

Preparation

Chop celery, carrots, and onion and add to large soup pot.  Add six cups chicken broth, bay leaves, sugar, nutmeg and salt and pepper.  Add pumpkin to soup pot.  Heat to a rolling boil and reduce to simmer.  Simmer for 45 minutes.  Just before serving,while simmering, add light cream and stir with whisk until well blended and heated through (about 4-5 minutes).  Do not boil.

Serves 6

Haricots Verts with Feta

Ingredients


Salad
1 1/2 pounds Haricots Verts (green beans-buy the very thin beans)
1 small red onion, minced
4 ounces feta cheese crumbled (1 cup)

Summer is here!

1/2 cup slivered almonds

Lemon Vinaigrette
3 TBS fresh lemon juice
3 TBS white wine vinegar
1 TBS Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 tsp salt
freshly ground pepper


Preparation


Lemon Vinaigrette:  Whisk lemon juice, vinegar, mustard, and sugar until combined.  Add olive oil in a thin stream, whisking continuously until blended.  Season with salt and pepper.  Set aside.

Boil 3 quarts water.  Plunge green beans into boiling salted water.  Cook 3 minutes.  Drain and rinse with ice water.  Pat dry.  Cover and chill thoroughly.

Transfer beans to a shallow serving bowl, add onion, and toss with 1/2 cup vinaigrette, adding more if desired.  Sprinkle with feta and almonds on top  Serve chilled.